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MP Carswell votes ‘leave’ – by walking out on Ukip

Tim Shipman and Tony Diver

March 26 2017, 6:00pm, The Sunday Times

Nigel Farage and Douglas Carswell campaigning for the Clacton by-election in 2014, which Carswell wonANDREW PARSONS

For a long time it has been a relationship made in hell but yesterday it ended in a quickie divorce. Douglas Cars­well announced that his loveless marriage with Ukip was at an end and Tory MPs revealed that moves are afoot to renew his vows with the Conservative Party.

Ukip’s only MP announced that he was leaving the party to sit as an independent. But in public and private he pointedly refused to rule out returning to the Tory fold in time for the 2020 general election.

Carswell had talks earlier this month with the Conser­vative chief whip Gavin William­son, who is understood to support the Clacton MP’s return to the party he abandoned in 2014.

He’s a traitor: he should be shot, not invited to tea

Carswell announced the separation on his website, ex­plain­ing he…

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